Laurels & lances: Police and pests

Laurel: To obvious opportunities. Irwin police Chief Dan Wensel wants his borough leaders to authorize the department to join the Westmoreland County SWAT team.

The group assembles members from eight other departments: Allegheny Township, Greensburg, Lower Burrell, Murrysville, New Kensington, North Huntingdon, Vandergrift and Washington Township. There are 25 operators, five negotiators and four tactical emergency medical service officers and up to 35 people available to come to Irwin in times of need.

The cost? Just $646, a figure so small Wensel called the proposal a “no-brainer.”

It is smart, cost-effective and efficient to have the one coordinated team drawing on the strengths of so many departments and readily available to participate in any of their jurisdictions.

It also is a good way to integrate the departments into relying on each other as many departments across the state are struggling to stay open amid cost and staffing concerns. Merging of municipal departments to create regional ones has been a lifeline for some areas.

The SWAT program is not a merger. It’s a collaborative effort. But that effort shows how well varied departments can pool resources and share talent. Should any of them want to consider merger or regionalization one day, a successful run in a program like the county SWAT team might give reassurance to how that might work.

Lance: To pest problems. You know you’ve got a lot of rats when your municipality is concerned about parked cars.

No, the rats in Arnold aren’t boosting vehicles and taking them for joy rides, but it seems like that’s only a matter of time.

Instead, it’s that the cars are getting in the way of garbage trucks on collection days. If a truck can’t get to the alleys because of parked cars, the trash doesn’t get collected. Then garbage bags become all-you-can-eat buffets for vermin.

The city also is struggling with other contributing factors. Residents have to bring their garbage to the street to be picked up. Not everyone is doing that. There are properties with fruit trees not being harvested to prevent rotting fruit from falling and attracting more rats. There are abandoned properties becoming the hottest ticket in town for the pests to move into and produce even more rodents.

Arnold doesn’t have a Pied Piper on the payroll to lead the rats out of town. The city has to rely on residents to do their part in picking up and being vigilant. And part of that is moving cars out of the way for garbage truck access. Parking in an alley will end in cars being towed — unless the rats get to them first.